One section is labeled “Spanning the Generations” and will include traditional American fare, such as meatloaf and macaroni and cheese, with a twist. The mac and cheese, for example, will include Maine lobster, cavatappi pasta and a combination of Parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella.

Also planned are vegetarian meals, gluten-free articles and a kids’ menu.

“It’s really fun to be working with my father,” Jeff Sims said, “and having my son here at the same time. I want it to be as enjoyable as possible.”

Earlier this week, he and kitchen manager Matt Shock were cooking a number of dishes as they prepared the kitchen and made sure everything was in working order.

“This isn’t a good week for dieting,” Martin Sims said. “They’re making one thing after another.”

He said he believes the restaurant will appeal to “young families. People who want to have a nice, comfortable good-quality dinner without having to mortgage the house.”

He said they selected the former Nova site because “it had everything we needed to open a restaurant. It made it affordable to us.”

Sims said the existing interior, with its urban blend of brick and steel, appealed to him. The menu depicts bricks on its border, with a steel-gray background.

Even the portraits of musicians from different decades match the generational theme, he said.

The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, with the bar area routinely open until 11 p.m. Generations will have about 20 full-time and part-time employees. The phone number is 740-362-1195.

“We’ve been hearing feedback from local people,” Sims said. “It really makes you excited to get the doors open, because it sounds like the community wants a really nice facility where they can go and have a nice enjoyable dinner or lunch, and we’re chomping at the bit to make that happen.”

He said he hopes to find ways to make the restaurant a part of community events, such as Main Street Delaware’s First Fridays and the Little Brown Jug harness race, and “help make these events seem better. … We definitely want to be part of the community and do things (so) the community can be proud to have us here.”

All of those he has met in the city, he said, are “class people.”

Sims earlier ran Vittoria Ristorante & Bar restaurant in Powell and the restaurant at the Lane Avenue Holiday Inn in Columbus. Jeff Sims worked for his father at both locations and most recently was a chef at Tartan Fields Golf Club, Dublin.

“It’s been a good road. It’s been good to us,” Martin Sims said. “Now we’re trying something on our own.”